Every one of the gymnasts who went to National Qualifiers (国家冠军赛资格赛) showed up with that goal in mind. Everyone gave it their all.
And I hate admitting it, but I was an exception. I did not do my best. Not for the ribbon exercise, nor for the club exercise. Knowing that I could have reached a little further to catch my ribbon, focused a little more so the stick wouldn’t slip through my fingers, tried a little harder to clean up those errors, but I didn’t, still bothers me.
After my disappointing competition, I tried my best to keep my eyes dry. But soon tears burned the edges of my eyes, and as I blinked, the first tear rolled down my cheek. Even though I angrily wiped my tears away before she looked at me, the evidence of my self-pity session presented itself clearly in the form of dirty makeup and reddened eyes.
My mom hated to see me cry, especially because I had no right or reason to. I had messed up--that wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine--and crying wouldn’t help at all. “Why are you crying, Amanda?” she asked, perhaps more pointedly (尖刻地) than intended, but I heard the concern in her voice. Unable to form all the emotions into words, I just looked away and avoided her questions.
“Tell me now why you’re crying.” Her voice this time wasn’t as gentle as it was before; it was filled with frustration and impatience. “Why are you crying?” she whispered again, but this time her voice was shaky and flooded with pain. This was the first time I’d ever seen my mom cry; my mom, who was always so strong and was there to encourage me through the roughest times, was now crying, and I was the reason for it. Finding my voice, I tentatively asked, “Why are you crying?”
She looked at me and answered exactly what I was afraid to hear, “I hate to see you hurting yourself.” So it was my fault. I had put those tears in her eyes. I had filled her with pain, with helplessness and with sadness.
I’ll never forget her pained expression. It forced me to realize how shortsighted and close-minded I’d been. I decided that no matter what happens in the future, I will never lose myself to regret.Why did Amanda feel regretful after the competition?
| A．Because she wasn’t admitted to the club. |
| B．Because she dropped her ribbon suddenly. |
| C．Because she broke the rule of the competition. |
| D．Because she didn’t try her best to compete. |
What did Amanda try to hide on the way back?
| A．Her silent tears. |
| B．The disappointing scores. |
| C．Her dirty makeup. |
| D．The evidence of failure. |
Which words reflect the change of the mother’s emotions?
| A．Painful--impatient—concerned |
| B．Concerned--frustrated--painful |
| C．Satisfied--painful—frustrated |
| D．Frustrated--angry--painful |
What did Amanda determine to do?
| A．Never cry in face of her mom. |
| B．Never compete as a gymnast. |
| C．Never involve herself in self-pity. |
| D．Never make up before games. |
The best title of the passage is probably _________.
| A．My painful experience as a gymnast |
| B．The tears I wiped away for my mother |
| C．The fiercest competition I lost |
| D．The worst thing I ever felt: regret |
Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us, from earliest school days, have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.
“On the contrary, “says L. Giambra, an expert in psychology (心理学), “daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn't get done all the thinking it has to do during a normal day... You can't possibly do all your thinking with a conscious(有意识的)mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious and conscious states of mind have silent dialogues. “
Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illnesses. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, “We know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures. Day dreams really are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life. “
Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams, which may be hard to understand. It's easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of handling(处理) them.
Daydreams cannot be predicted(预料); they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.
So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don't stop. Just pay attention to your dream. It may be more important than you think. Daydreaming used to be considered.
| A．very simple and direct | B．unimportant or even harmful |
| C．a necessary part of thinking | D．the result of an unconscious mind |
In what way are daydreams different from sleep dreams?
| A．Daydreams help us to handle more difficult situations. |
| B．Daydreams are not so easy for us to control and direct. |
| C．Daydreams are easier for us to understand. |
| D．Daydreams help to develop an unconscious mind. |
Professor Eric Klinger believes that.
| A．we may study our experiences just through our daydreams |
| B．daydreaming is one of the important ways that we recognize our lives |
| C．our fears and longings in life are shown in our daydreams |
| D．we should be able to tell our futures by having daydreams |
The writer of the article thinks that.
| A．daydreaming is more helpful than sleep dreams |
| B．daydreaming with an unconscious mind will do good to health |
| C．Professor Eric Klinger has a better idea than L. Giambra |
| D．many artists and scientists are famous because they have daydreams |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Daydreaming was once regarded as a cause of some mental illnesses. |
| B．Many well-known artists gained energy of creation from daydreams. |
| C．Experts began to have a better understanding of daydreams in the late 1980s. |
| D．Scientists believe that we can know daydreams before having them. |
A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors.
On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣机) as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment. As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism(环境保护主义).”
On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at. They have persuaded Homeowners Associations (HOAs) across the U.S. to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood. This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines.
So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline. Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more.
Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生态意识的) person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline. The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard. “Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters in their own hands,” says Reck. The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them.
North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do. But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods. They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall.
Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change. As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”. Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged. We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming.”One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ________.
| A．clothes dryers are more efficient |
| B．clothesline drying reduces home value |
| C．clothes dryers are energy-saving |
| D．clothesline drying is not allowed in most U.S. states |
Which of the following best describes Matt Reck?
| A．He is a kind-hearted man. | B．He is an impolite man. |
| C．He is an experienced gardener. | D．He is a man of social responsibility. |
Who are in favor of clothesline drying?
| A．housing businesses. | B．Environmentalists. |
| C．Homeowners Associations. | D．Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors. |
What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money. |
| B．Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered. |
| C．Opposite opinions on clothesline drying. |
| D．Different varieties of clotheslines. |
Special Bridges Help Animals Cross the Road
— Reported by Sheila Carrick
Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side.
Most people know this joke. But recently, some people have been much more worried about how the grizzly bear(灰熊)and mountain lion can cross the road.
"Millions of animals die each year on US roads," the Federal Highway Administration reports. In fact，only about 80 ocelots, an endangered wild cat, exist in the US today. The main reason? Road kill.
"Ecopassages (生态通道 ) " may help animals cross the road without being hit by cars. They are paths both over and under roads. "These ecopassages can be extremely useful, so that wildlife can avoid road accidents," said Jodi Hilty of the Wildlife Protection Society.
But do animals actually use the ecopassages? The answer is yes. Paul Beier of Northern Arizona University found foot marks left by mountain lions on an ecopassage that went under a highway. This showed that the lions used the passage.
Builders of ecopassages try to make them look like a natural part of an area by planting trees on and around them. Animals seem to be catching on. Animals as different as salamanders(火蜥蜴) and grizzly bears are using the bridges and underpasses.
The next time you visit a park or drive through an area with a lot of wildlife, look around. You might see an animal overpass!The writer uses the example of "ocelots " to show that ________.
| A．wild animals have become more dangerous |
| B．the driving conditions have improved greatly |
| C．the measure for projecting wildlife fails to work |
| D．an increasing number of animals are killed in road accidents |
From the news story, we know an ecopassage is ________.
| A．an underground path for cars | B．a fence built for the safety of the area |
| C．a bridge for animals to get over a river | D．a path for animals to cross the road |
When the writer says that animals seem" to be catching on", he means ________.
| A．animals begin to realize the dangers on the road |
| B．animals begin to learn to use ecopassages |
| C．animals are crossing the road in groups |
| D．animals are increasing in number |
The writer asks visitors and drivers to look around when traveling because________
| A．wild animals may attack cars | B．wild animals may jam the road |
| C．they may see wild animals in the park | D．they may see wild animals on ecopassages |
Today only one person in five in the United States lives within 50 miles of his birthplace. Since the country was first settled, Americans have moved around a great deal, and are often far away from their parents. Because they have broken ties with their past at a young age, chosen their own occupations, established their own homes and developed their own lifestyles, few American children grow up closely surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as they do in Italy, Nigeria, or India, for example. This along with the fact that modern American families do not have servants has made the “baby-sitter” a vital part of the American scene. A “sitter” is someone who is hired to care for children for a specific length of time—usually relatively short—while the parents are out for an evening, going to a party or a course of study for example. Sometimes the baby-sitter is also hired for longer period, perhaps when the parents are away for a weekend. In such cases the “sitter” is likely to be a mature and motherly woman. For short periods, teen-agers, college students, nursing students, and others are commonly employed on an hourly basis.
From the point of view of convenience, the best sitters are often young people who live in your apartment building or close by in the neighborhood. This gives you a chance to meet the parents and see what they are like. If an emergency occurs, young sitters can call upon their parents quickly for help; you do not have to take them far to see them home at night or pay expensive taxi fares. Another advantage is that young people living close by can usually fill in quite readily on short notice or for short periods of time.
In an apartment house you can ask the superintendent for permission to post a notice for a baby-sitter by the mailboxes. This is often the best way to find out if there is anyone in the building who is interested in baby-sitting. Retired people as well as students are often glad to earn a little money in this way and can be found by such a note.A baby-sitter is a person who________.
| A．helps to do housework |
| B．is a cleaning woman |
| C．looks after children while their parents are out |
| D．takes care of babies and cooks for the family |
It is advised that when you are out for short periods, you may hire________ to be baby-sitters.
| A．motherly women | B．retired people |
| C．young people | D．mature women |
The best title for the passage is________.
| A．American Families | B．Baby-Sitters |
| C．A Way of Earning Money for Young Students | D．A Best Way to Find Baby-Sitters |
The African elephant,the largest land animal remaining on earth ,is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统).Unlike other animals,the African elephant is to a great degree the builder of its environment.As a big plant-eater,it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives,therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地).
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat.In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day,it kills small trees and underbushes,and pulls branches off big trees.This results in many open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover
part of the African savannas.In these open spaces are many plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example.In their natural state,the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor.By pulling down trees and eating plants,elephants make open spaces,allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor.In such situations,the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species.If the elephant disappears,scientists say,many other animals will also disappear from large areas of forest and savanna,greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| C．The effect of African elephants' search for food. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
A．Fixing the ti me. |
B．Worsening the state. |
| C．Improving the quality. | D．Deciding the conditions. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| B．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
| C．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| D．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
The passage is developed mainly by________..
| A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| B．pointing out similarities and differences |
| C．describing the changes in space order |
| D．giving examples |